Binance creates two more “mini-Binance” platforms

Binance is building an on-chain empire.

It has created two "mini-Binances": Alpha and Aster. One focuses on "on-chain spot trading" and the other on "on-chain futures trading."

Binance's core businesses are futures and spot trading, and now it aims to firmly grasp both "on-chain spot and futures trading." It has already successfully found a way to play with "on-chain spot trading" and has also begun exploring the "on-chain futures trading" business. For a long time, the focus on "on-chain spot trading" has been dominated by projects in the Solana ecosystem, while "on-chain futures trading" has been dominated by Hyperliquid. Both of these directly threaten Binance's core business. Binance is facing competition from two new paradigms. It's often not the old paradigm that defeats giants, but the new. Nokia, Intel, Yahoo, Motorola... too many companies that were invincible in the old paradigm have fallen behind in the transition to the new. Those giants who haven't fallen behind continue to thrive. Tencent created WeChat in addition to QQ, Alibaba invented Tmall in addition to Taobao, and now Binance is building its own "mini-Binance." Futures trading has always been Binance's most important and largest source of revenue. Hyperliquid's perpetual futures trading volume has already exceeded 13% of Binance's, and its derivatives holdings are even approaching 30% of Binance's. This directly threatens Binance's lifeblood.

Spot trading is Binance's most important customer acquisition channel and holds significant strategic significance. Solana, however, continues to capture the attention of crypto users. For a long time, the crypto world's focus has been almost entirely on Solana, not Binance. A large number of users are choosing decentralized exchanges for on-chain trading, rather than centralized ones. For a long time, Binance's coin listing news was considered a "contrarian indicator" and a "peaking indicator." This has almost eliminated any positive effects from Binance's coin listings.

Binance's core businesses, futures and spot trading, have both faced challenges from the on-chain world. This has driven the company's determination to expand into both on-chain futures and spot trading.

Alpha is Binance's most important foray into on-chain spot trading. Over the past six months, its momentum has grown, gradually occupying a prominent position within the Binance ecosystem. The week of September 15th to 21st is considered "interest rate cut week." Binance Alpha performed exceptionally well during this week, listing 10 tokens, four of which saw their value increase by more than 200%. Aster saw the highest increase of 334%, and STBL saw its highest increase of 45 times. (Note: Four of these tokens have almost gone to zero, so investment caution is advised.) Binance Alpha allows users with high points to earn free airdrops based on their trading volume. The returns on these airdropped tokens are substantial. For example, last week, Binance Alpha airdropped 4,000 STBL tokens, and just three days later, their value reached 2,000 U. The 1,667 MYX tokens airdropped by Binance Alpha on May 6th are now worth $15,669, peaking at $31,673, equivalent to 220,000 RMB. "Try Binance Alpha, and Binance will give you a free car." This has successfully attracted many crypto users back to the Binance ecosystem. However, Binance Alpha isn't a charity; it has its own drawbacks. When the market falls, users who experience Binance Alpha improperly may also suffer losses. Those who maintain discipline are often a minority. The explosive popularity of Binance Alpha reflects a trend: the on-chain world is becoming mainstream in the crypto world at a noticeable pace. Binance, OKX, Coinbase, Bybit, Bitget...nearly all major exchanges have already focused on developing wallet products. However, few have truly succeeded. Binance Wallet's user experience had long been criticized by users, but the launch of Binance Alpha catapulted it to fame. Binance has also established itself as a "big brother" in the on-chain world. Binance Alpha has been under development for six months, and some are gradually recognizing its position as a "mini-Binance for on-chain spot trading." However, regarding Aster, a project that has already reached tens of billions of dollars in FDV after less than a week of coin launch, there remains a wide range of opinions and significant divergences. After Hyperliquid, does the market need so many Perp DEXs? What problems has Aster solved that Hyperliquid didn't? Is it reasonable for Aster's market capitalization to surpass projects with long-standing accumulation and real trading volume, such as Pump.fun and Arbitrum, in such a short period of time? These questions will only be answered with time. However, it is clear that the emergence of Hyperliquid has likely caused even more panic among centralized exchanges than Solana, and has also garnered considerable attention. Whether it's Coinbase's AVNT, Binance's Aster, or OKX's X Layer, all are actively pursuing the "on-chain contract exchange" market. CZ's five consecutive tweets in support of Aster demonstrate its importance. The crypto exchange industry is undergoing a fundamental shift. The trend toward greater decentralization is undeniable. Binance's launch of two "mini-Binances" signals that Binance is no longer content to be the leading centralized cryptocurrency exchange and is striving to establish itself as the king of the decentralized on-chain world.